Chapter Text
Izuku, half hunched over his computer in his dorm room, surrounded by hero paraphernalia, scours the internet in an attempt to figure out what is an appropriate gift to give to your friend that you want to be more than just friends with. Ideally without being too obvious in case the idea would send her running.
It is not helpful. Every site seems to contradict each other, some even contradict themselves. The current site says you should never ever give personalized gifts to your crush and in the next sentence it says personalized gifts are the ideal way to show you care about someone you are not yet dating.
Uraraka is the one of the best friends he has ever had. She is definitely the only one he wants to take out on a date, to hold hands with and to kiss.
This is going to be a disaster. Even the plastic hero figures in his room can see how hopeless he is.
He is pretty sure jewelry would be an appropriate gift… if they were dating. Alternately he thinks fluffy socks are probably too basic. Those might be an idea to give to his mom. Though after the year they just had he should step up his game for his mom too.
He had never really done much in the way of gift exchanges among friends before, last year the entire class did a random exchange. That was fun, but he had just tossed in a gift he would have been happy to get back.
When he was walking back from lunch to class with Uraraka earlier today, somehow the topic had come up and Izuku may have implied he had not been involved in the tradition outside of his mom.
“You mean to tell me you have never done a gift exchange with your friends?” Uraraka said, looking at him with her wide eyes.
“Well not really … no.” he shrugged . “Just the class thing last year.”
“We are going to fix this, I am getting you a gift Deku. you are getting a friend gift this year.”
The sweet sentiment had his emotions bubbling and he managed to spit out, “You don't have to–”
“I want to,” she said, “And you don't have to worry because it's an exchange so I’ll be getting something from you as well.”
He liked this idea more than he should, heat filled his cheeks.
“Okay” he said, looking away from her. “I will get you a gift, it's a deal.”
Their conversation from earlier today left him feeling slightly on edge - mostly because he finally has a chance to show her that she means something more to him than just really good friends and not come off as creepy.
It won't be creepy, the exchange was her idea after all.
If he has learned anything about romantic advances living in the dorms with his classmates, it is that there is a very fine line between romantic and creepy. He thinks the key to that formula is if the feeling is mutual it is romantic, if it's not then it's creepy.
So Izuku intends to stay friends as long as he possibly can until hopefully one day he sees any sign that she is as into him as he is to her. If that never happens then he hopes he doesn't die from a broken heart when she inevitably finds someone worthy of her.
He has never put so much thought into each item in his life. Is a candle just a candle or is that implying a candlelit meal together. Candles are off the list.
What about a gift card for her phone, then she can buy whatever apps she likes. Nope that shows no feelings, it is too cold of a gift.
What has feeling but not too much. That is Izuku’s new mission.
“Tsu I just made a huge mistake, I should just keep my mouth shut.” Ochako cries, throwing herself into her dear friend's room, shutting the door behind her.
“This sounds juicy” Mina pops out of nowhere, Ochako hadn't even thought to check if anyone else in Tsu's room proving her stated point. It was one thing to talk about her crush with Tsu, it was another with anyone else, especially Mina. “It has to do with Midoriya doesn't it?” Her friend's voice sounds all too giddy.
“Why would you say that?” Ochako’s voice wobbles, betraying her. She crawls onto Tsu’s bed too and makes herself comfy on a pile of lily pad shaped pillows.
“Because crushes make people flustered like this.” Mina grins, “Soooo what happened?”
“It's nothing. It so stupid, he doesn’t know, does he?” Ochako curls up in a ball around one of the pillows with her head peeking out “He doesn't know right?”
“No he doesn't.” the girls say in unison.
“Unless something totally wild just happened, I think it's safe to say Midoriya has no clue about your crush. Try not to stress.” Tsu puts her finger to mouth, “what happened? Ribbit.”
“Girl – you could walk up to him and confess and he still would explain it away.” Mina says.
“You think so?”
“I'm not telling you to do that, although you totally should.” Mina says, bouncing excitedly. “I’d love to see that go down.”
“You really think I could confess and he would explain it away?”
“Absolutely.” Mina replies and the look on Tsu’s face seems to agree.
Because he is not interested in me like that, of course he would talk himself out of something so outlandish.
“Oh, then I guess I’ve nothing to worry about.” She says, trying to mask her disappointment.
“Well?” Mina says expectantly.
Ochako explains the whole embarrassing incident sparing none of the horrifying details, as her friends listen intently.
She emphasizes how Deku had even tried to give her an out, or more likely himself an out.
How she had still insisted that they give each other Christmas gifts as a friend exchange despite his objection.
A gift exchange between just the two of them. What was she thinking?
How he couldn't even look her in the eyes when he agreed to it.
“This is a nightmare.” Ochako exclaims. “What have I done?”
“I think you might be making things more dramatic than they actually were.” Tsu is as calm as ever. “ It can't be that bad if he agreed to it, Midoriya is not the type to agree to things he doesn't want.”
“He might, he is the type to pretend everything is fine with him when it isn’t, and put others' feelings before his own.” Ochako says, “He probably didn't think this was worth pushing against after his initial objection.”
“I'm with Tsu,” Mina agrees. “You’re overthinking. This is an exciting development! You two have been moving slower than ice melting in winter. How can two people who so obviously adore each other never make any progress. Finally something I can sink my teeth into.” her friend's eyes are gleaming.
“I'm going to call the whole thing off. That is the best gift I can give him, and it is what he actually wants.” Ochako cries.
“No no no, don't you dare do that to him.” Mina insists "How long has it been since you made this plan?”
“It was during lunch break.”
“So he has already agonized about the perfect gift to give you…” she looks at her phone, “for over seven hours. We have all had a rough year, Midoriya in particular. Don't you dare back out on him he will think he’s done something wrong.”
“Or he will be relieved of a burden he never should have been given.” Ochako says.
“I agree with Mina,” Tsu says contemplatively, "backing out now will do more harm than good.”
Ochako sighs exasperated. She needs to make things right with Izuku. Thoughts of how she had pressured him into this won’t stop whirling in her head.
Izuku goes to make his breakfast and he smiles when he sees Uraraka is just finishing preparing hers. If he works it right he might get to sit with her this morning and maybe he can get clues about a good gift for her. He intentionally forgoes making any kind of intricate breakfast and blends up a fast protein smoothie so he can catch up with her.
“Good morning.” he says
“Morning.” She greets him back in an unsettling tone. He tries to convince himself that it's nothing and proceeds with his plan sitting kitty corner to her at the same end of the table facing her.
There is the clatter of dishes and the white noise of students chattering around them but the two of them are essentially as alone as they ever get. “Hey I was thinking about our exchange, um we never set a date or a price limit or anything?”
“Oh right, yeah ya know I didn't really think that through. We should just call it off, eh?” Uraraka says stone faced. Izuku realizes that this is it, the thing that is making Uraraka seem distant this morning. She regretted her plan from yesterday for some reason.
He didn't expect such a simple rejection to cut so deep. It's not like he had bought the gift or anything. It's not like it meant anything.
He foolishly placed himself in a seat where he could see her brilliant brown eyes that normally light up his day. Now he can't hide the pain that he knows is showing in his expression. “Oh I-I that's not what I meant I just… don't these things usually come with parameters?” He tries to save face but his words come out choppy and weak.
Uraraka's expression softens, she takes pity on him and sighs “Yeah ok, let's make some limits.” Izuku can't seem to ignore the growing pit in his stomach. He had become so invested in something she clearly could care less about.
Every word of this conversation is painful and he wishes he had just agreed to call it off when she had first suggested it. They come to the conclusion of a two thousand yen limit or a homemade gift. With that and the date set, he makes an excuse to leave and bolts.
He sits on the chair in his room doing reps with a dumbbell, as he tries to work some of his anxiety out. He is so agitated, about something that should be nothing. He knows he needs to let this go. He had known she didn't like him as much as he liked her. He thought he had made his peace with that.
He feels just as pathetic as he did in primary school when he tried too hard to make friends.
He thought after this last year, that he had made something of himself, feelings like this would be a thing of the past.
Apparently that was foolish to hope.
He briefly considers saying he’s sick to avoid her in class today, but he isn't sick and he would hate to fall behind in his studies. He can't avoid her forever nor does he really want to. That's the trouble with love. He still wants to see her, to be around her and to move past this pain.
He needs to avoid looking as desperate as he feels, so for today he had better keep his distance. Tomorrow everything will look brighter, he can do this. He has faced plenty of rejections before and lived to fight another day.
Ochako’s watches in slow motion as Deku’s face crumples, he looks like a wounded puppy. Her friends were right, he does think he did something wrong. She sighs unintentionally before she tries to bring the conversation back on track.
She can't take the words back now, no matter how much she wishes she could. All she can do is try to make the original plan work.
“Friday after classes, s-sounds good.” Deku says with a forced smile on his face, the one he puts on for show, the one that is going to leave a bitter taste in her mouth because he is using it on her. The smile he uses to say everything is fine when it's not. “I - I forgot something in my room. I'll see you later.”
He darts off as if he was headed out to go rescue someone. This was not her finest moment.
She now has both pushed Deku into a gift exchange with her that he didn't want, and hurt his feelings regarding it once he was invested. She is the worst possible kind of friend.
She is going to make this right.
The number one obstacle is that he is clearly trying to avoid her. She thinks he may have just tripped over his own two feet when she slowed down to wait for him in the halls, then when he got up he disappeared into the restroom.
At lunch he sat with Bakugou. If she had been trying to convince herself that this was all coincidental this was the point where she knew it absolutely wasn't.
She can't remember him ever sitting at any other lunch table. Ever. Aside from his lunches with All Might.
Then during Hero studies, he comes into class last and sits at the farthest spot possible from her, he had to walk past everyone and sit at the front of the class as she was in the center at the back of class, the easiest spot to join.
This is next level avoidance. She considers texting him but doesn't think she can handle being rejected via text as well as in person. So she keeps that in her back pocket as a last resort.
After being thoroughly avoided all day long she goes up to her room and tries not to think about it. She distracts herself with homework, but thoughts of Deku’s sad green eyes keep flooding her brain. Finally she gives up and starts thinking of gift ideas.
She hopes this awkwardness doesn't hold up until Friday, but in case it does, she needs to find the perfect one to help make things right with Deku.
What kind of gift says I'm sorry, and I care about you.
There is good news. There is one gift that says both those things according to the internet, and she can make it for less than two thousand yen. Chocolate.
She wants to give him a gift he can keep, that he can hold on to and remember her by, just like whenever she uses her All Might netsuke she got in the gift exchange from him last year. Maybe not chocolate.
It needs to be perfect.
Izuku now acutely realizes just how much time he spends with Uraraka, his day feels so empty. When he asks to sit by Kacchan and his gang at lunch they immediately give him suspicious looks but welcome him regardless.
Ashido, Sero, and Kirisima all start talking about how terribly they’d done on the last math test and ask Kacchan if he will help them study for the next one tonight. Kacchan starts growling something at them.
Izuku isn't paying attention to their conversation anymore as he watches Uraraka animatedly talking about something at his normal table. It's only when Kacchan catches him looking in Uraraka’s direction he confronts Izuku about it. “What did you do Deku?”
“I- I didn't do anything.” Izuku says his uncertainty causes him to sound guilty.
“You can sit with us any time,” Kirishima says. “But if you are just hiding out to avoid someone that is not very manly.”
“Seriously Deku,” Kacchan Barks. "If you did something stupid to piss off Round Face, don't think you can hide out with us. Fix it nerd.”
“Thanks, yeah it’s not like that.” There are too many people at this table to admit Kirishima is right and the knowing look on Ashido's face is making him second guess this whole idea. “Actually I think I need to be somewhere, See you all later .” he slinks off to class early.
He finds himself thinking over everything that had taken place between the original plan and the morning. He can't recall doing anything to cause Uraraka to sour on him. He wants to ask her if he upset her, so he can fix whatever it was, but he can’t bring himself to ask.
His fear of it being her finally realizing she had been giving him too much of her time and energy rather than him having done something wrong left him frozen in a state of anxiety, wanting to do something but unable to.
It would make sense if she'd come to that realization. Today continually proved as it went on, just how much of her time he really takes up each day. It was so obvious to him because he missed each second of it now. Trying to steady himself he reminds himself that everything can go back to normal tomorrow. He hopes it's true.
Iilda, Todoroki, and Asui are all sitting with Uraraka at supper. He is not up to repeat of lunch. He knows everyone would gladly let him join at any table, he just can't take the questions. So he takes his meal to his room and eats alone.
With each bite in the echoing silence of his room he feels even more miserable.
He pulls out his phone, considering calling his mom, when a knock on his door interrupts that thought. He tucks his phone back into his pocket as he gets up to answer it. Iida and Todoroki are standing outside his door. Iida’s hand is raised as if to knock again."
“You alright?” Todoroki asks.
“I'm fine.” he says gesturing for them to make themselves at home in his room. Iida sits at the chair by his desk and Todoroki goes to the corner of the bed leaving plenty of room for Izuku to sit on the other end of it which he does.
“Did something happen between you and Uraraka?” Iida asks.
“How did you guess?” Izuku replies sarcastically everyone has probably noticed by now.
“Something to do with the way she ran up to her room with her food when you didn’t come sit with us.” Iida says in all seriousness as if he really was looking for an answer.
“She did?.” he says, feeling shame burn through him. “I didn't mean to, I don't know what I did.” He tries to explain the whole embarrassing gift exchange fiasco to them and how he had been avoiding Uraraka ever since their chat this morning.
“When it comes to matters of the heart,” Iida says, “we need to try to see things objectively. If it was anyone else would you have been this upset by it?”
“I already told you that I know… I know it is stupid to be upset by this, but I thought space would be good for both of us.” Izuku defends himself blushing being called out, “I wasnt avoiding her to be mean, but to prevent myself from doing anything else embarrassing.”
“Haven't you had a crush on Uraraka forever?” Todoroki asks, “Why are you suddenly so flustered now?”
His face is so hot. It's uncomfortable talking about this, of course his friends knew about his ongoing crush. But they rarely discuss it since he can usually keep himself together and at least pretend to act like a normal human.
“I don’t know,” he says, “what is wrong with me? I should go talk to her and apologize.”
“What would you even say?” Iida says as he leans backwards and opens the window just enough to let in some cool air. “I think you made the right call, in the state you are in you are bound to make things worse. It was wise of you to avoid her.”
“You think so?” Izuku replies.
“Now that I see what we are working with, yes.” Iida says.
“Talking to her right now would only lead to one thing.” Todoroki chimes in.
“What's that?” Izuku asks.
“A confession.” Todoroki says deadpan. Iida nods in agreement.
“No I won't.” Izuku sputters “I may be reckless, but I won't do that.”
“How else will you be able to explain your behavior today?” Tenya asks, “it is not logical.”
“I… “ They are absolutely right, all he has wounded feelings to explain his awkwardness this morning and the subsequent avoidance of Uraraka. Nothing he can do to explain this away without lying or telling the truth. He is certainly not going to tell the truth. Not him, not about this.
Not yet. Not ever.
“So what do I do now?” Izuku asks.
“Just start tomorrow fresh and pretend everything is normal,” Todoroki says.
“You think that could actually work?” Izuku asks skeptically.
“It's how I survived my entire childhood,” Todoroki offers. "It could work.”
“What if she asks why I was avoiding her?” Izuku says.
“It's likely just as uncomfortable for her as it is for you. She probably won't bring it up.” Todoroki speculates.
“It is better than any of the ideas I had in mind,” Iida says.
“You guys have to help me out, okay?” Izuku begs. “Don't leave me alone with her too long and steer conversations away from problematic topics.”
We’ll try.” Iida says “ No promises that we can keep you from putting your foot in your mouth again though.”
Ochako stares at her phone, she imagines texting Deku just like she would any other time to see if he is alright. She plays out different scenarios in her head of what he might do or say back. She wonders if she stares at their stagnant text chat long enough if she can will him to text her and for things to go back to normal again.
No text appears.
There is a knock at her door, she fixes her hair just in case but it’s not him. “Oh hi Tsu, come on in.” she says, trying to hide her disappointment.
Tsu enters and sits beside Ochako on her bed “I knew you wouldn't want to talk about it where people could hear, but what happened?”
“I did the thing you and Mina told me not to do, and you were one hundred percent right.” Ochako huffs. “You should have seen his face, I think he might hate me now.”
“You called the exchange off?” Tsu says.
“Well no, but I suggested the idea and believe me that was bad enough.” Ochako explains what had happened this morning.
“I'd known something was off all day, ribbit.”
“I'm pretty sure the entire school class knows, He sat at Bakugou’s table for goodness sake.” Ochako cries “what am I going to do?”
“Maybe you should talk to him?”
“He is avoiding me, remember!”
“If you went up to his room right now, do you think he would turn you away?” Tsu asks.
“I don’t know, maybe,” Ochako replies. She honestly doesn’t know and she is terrified by the thought that he might.
“This is Midoriya we are talking about, it won't last.” Tsu hypothesis “ He is not the type to hold a grudge. I'm sure this will all blow over.”
“Yeah, you're probably right.” Ochako agrees, but Tsu hadn’t seen the devastated look on his face this morning, or the ridiculous lengths he was taking to avoid her. “Want to help me come up with a great gift idea?”
“Ribbit.” Tsu agrees and Ochako explains the limits and how she wants it to be a gift he can keep and be reminded of her by. They consider a few options, most seem too generic, socks, a cap, a t-shirt.
They quickly decide it would be hard to find any All Might merch he doesn't already have.
“Ugh. Maybe I should just make him some chocolate, maybe in an All Might mold then he would never eat it.” Ochako says as she flops onto her pillow “So he will be reminded of me everytime he sees it.”
“It would work, but you know I think anything you give him he will adore, even a pair of socks.” Tsu says, flopping beside her friend.
“Yeah I suppose so” Ochako says, staring at the ceiling “He is always so appreciative isn't he?”
“Yes, but that’s not why. It is because it is from you, and he really cares about you.” Tsu nudges Ochako. “Your feelings are not as one sided as you seem to think”
Ochacko pulls the pillow from under her head and covers her hot face “Shh! that's not true.” she whispers from under the pillow nudging her friend back.
“Just think about it, honestly think about it. Why would he care so much about this exchange being called off if he didn't have feelings for you.”
“No that's not ...” Ochako says, pushing the pillow away and waving it in front of her face. “You're wrong.”
“Then why?” Tsu faces her and stares at her. “How do you explain him being so bothered over this?”
“That's not why…” Ochako quiets, “do you really think so?”
“Ribbit, I do.”
“Then why wouldn't he say something?” Ochako says jumping up and starts stretching trying to burn off some newfound adrenaline.
“Why haven't you?” Tsu sits up and looks her dead in the eye.
“Because I'm me, but he’s him. All Might's successor, He could probably have any girl he wants, surely he has to know that.” Ochako says as if this idea is just too out there. “If he was interested in me he would have said something.”
“He may be famous, but he is still just our shy friend too.” Tsu adds “Just like you told everyone when we were trying to bring him back to UA, just because he is special does not make him any less normal. He is still just the same person we met just over a year and a half ago.”
“How can I find out for sure?” Ochako asks.
“You–”
“I'm not telling him how I feel.”
“Well that makes it harder. We might need to bring in expert advice?”
“No, we are not doing that!” Ochako waves her hand dramatically “It's bad enough that the two of us are talking about this. How about I focus on just getting things back to normal for now. How should I do that?”
“Hmm just sit by him and pretend everything is normal?”
“How?” Ochako asks.
“Hmm, we can come up with something I’m sure.”
Izuku nervously scans the dining area before he makes his way in. He knows what he has to do, he is just not sure he can pull it off. As he is making his breakfast Asui arrives taking a seat before he does, she waves him over.
He sits with their mutual friend knowing if Uraraka shows up she will definitely join them. He will try his best to act like yesterday never happened, that he had not spent an entire day avoiding her. He just wants things to go back to normal, he really hopes this works.
Izuku almost asks Asui about the only thing on his mind, Uraraka, but stops himself. With a bit of effort, he manages to stick to his original plan of not bringing her up. Instead, he says the first thing not Uraraka related that comes to mind.
"How are you feeling about the upcoming math exam?"
“I'm feeling pretty good about it, I just hope I can remember all the formulas. How about you?” Tsu answers before picking up her phone and sending a quick message or something.
“Same, I think I have a good handle on it,” Izuku says, “but I wish I had a little more time to study.”
“Yeah, more time would have been nice,” Tsu responds “I think we still have one more unit to finish before the winter break.”
“Are you doing anything for the holidays,” Izuku asks.
“I'm going home to my family, and I think my parents have a little trip planned. They are being pretty secretive about it so I don't actually know where we are going. How about you, any plans?”
“Oh no trips or anything that I know of, but I do get to spend a week with my mom at home,” he says.
“It's good to see our families.” Tsu says.
Izuku is out of ideas for conversation. It seems Asui is too as the conversation lulls and they both sit in silence. Uraraka arrives before it becomes awkward. Flashing a perfect smile that dazzles him.
"Morning Deku, Tsu." She says as she sits in the free space on the other side of him. He is sitting right between the two girls now. He begins to feel a bit trapped, like an Izuku sandwich.
"Morning," He and Tsu reply in unison. He even manages to return Uraraka's smile. His heart is racing, and he has to fight with the strong urge to run.
He stares at the table trying to ignore his instincts. His hands are twitching and he is sure he looks a mess. He clenches them shut. Thankfully, he can hear the girls chattering as if he is not there. He tries to focus on his breathing. He can do this.
“You alright Midoriya?” Asui asks.
His eyes shoot up to Asui and then to Uraraka, they are squinting at him suspiciously. This is not going at all how he envisioned it. He had managed to stay calm around her successfully for the better part of the two school years they have known each other. So why is this so difficult?
“I’m fine.” he says forcing himself to smile “I’m fine, umm… is it just me or is it a little hot in here?” he can feel beads of anxious sweat building up on his face and neck. Still he keeps himself planted ignoring the urge to run as fast and as far as he can.
“Want some water?” Asui asks. Izuku nods, standing to go get some, she stops him. “Let me grab that for you Midoriya, you seem like you should sit back down. You don't look well.”
“I'll be fine.” he moves to leave when he feels a hand take his. Uraraka’s hand.
“Please sit.” Uraraka says pulling him back. “We just want to make sure you are alright.”
Uraraka’s hand is touching his hand, her skin is against his skin. She had held his hand once before, but he had gloves on. That had been incredibly comforting, he cherished the memory. This is so much better. It feels like she’s the tether holding him in place. Anchoring him against the storm of anxiety buffeting him.
The desire to stay has suddenly grown by a hundred percent, but he feels a prick of guilt making it impossible to indulge in his fantasy that her hand holding his means anything. Asui stands up and gently nudges him to sit back down and he gives in. Once they are sitting, Uraraka rips her hand away as if she is pulling away from a hot flame. It feels like a heavy stone sits at the bottom of his stomach now.
He tries to think logically like his friends had advised. He knows she was only worried about him, just like she was all those months ago when she had last held his hand. He tries his best to push out all the negative thoughts that came with her letting go so abruptly. He chooses to focus on how nice it was while it lasted. How he hopes he can hold her hand again one day.
He stares at his hand that held hers just a moment ago. How could something so simple feel so right and still make him feel so confused.
Now he sits with her, alone. His heart beating rapidly, reminding him of why she had taken his hand in the first place.
She moves her hand and gently rubs his back. “Take deep breaths Deku, I think you need more air.”
He takes her advice breathing deeply. He thinks that may be true, but he doesn’t think the lack of oxygen is his actual problem, rather a symptom. No wonder people describe love as taking your breath away. This isn't how he pictured it, but it kind of made sense now.
He has no idea how he will explain to her what is wrong with him, but he is going to enjoy her hand gently tracing along his back in the meantime. He can indulge in his daydream that she likes him the way he likes her, just for a moment. It also helps him to calm down.
Asui comes back with the water, he sits up straight to drink the water. Uraraka moves her hand off his back at the shift.
"Do you need anything else?" Asui asks.
Izuku replies by shaking his head.
"I'd better get going then." Asui says. "I'll see you guys later."
Asui walks away leaving the two of them all alone again.
“Hey Deku…” Uraraka says tentatively.
“Yes?” He answers nervously wondering if she will bring yesterday up.
“Maybe you should go see Recovery Girl?” He is relieved he doesn't have to talk about yesterday and he manages to talk his way out of a visit to the healing heroine who could probably tell just by looking at him that he is love sick.
Nope he is already embarrassed enough as it is. He can get this back under control, he will get rid of these feelings somehow.
After he convinces her he does not need medical attention, they sit together in silence neither seeming to want to say anything nor want to be the first to leave. All he wants to do is apologize for yesterday, but he knows he can't without a good explanation and he doesn't have one.
Iida shows up arms flailing, shooing them off to class. His friend interrupting his time with Uraraka has never been more welcome.
Ochako is fussing over her hair and her outfit while she impatiently waits to hear from Tsu if it's a good time to come down for breakfast. She mentally goes over the plan that she and tsu had devised last night.
Step one. Tsu will text Ochako to come join her once Deku is sitting with her.
Step two: chat together as a group for a bit and if it seems like Deku is not going to bolt, Tsu will make an excuse and leave.
Step three: take the opportunity to apologize for yesterday.
Step four: resume life as normal.
Step five: find the perfect gift that two thousand yen can buy for Deku.
Tsu finally texts her and she makes her way down, joining her friends as gracefully as she can manage. Step one complete.
They do try, really they do to get a good conversation going as per step two, but it's quickly apparent Deku is struggling.
She has no idea what is wrong. Part of her thinks it's because of her, he was fine until she showed up. When he asks if he is the only one who is hot she wonders if he is sick or getting sick. He is sweating a little like he had just finished a small workout.
When he tries to go get his own water she instinctively grabs his hand and asks him to stay.
When he sits down she registers what she is doing and pulls her hand back immediately ashamed.
Deku doesn't say anything, he is slumped over his arms on the table, his breathing is rapid and shallow. She wonders if he had even noticed the hand holding, and she is now worried if he is getting enough air.
Tsu does leave them as planned so she supposes step two is complete even if it worked out differently than she had expected.
Step three is not important. Skipping step three, she couldn't seem to spit the words out and it was only a means to get to step four anyway.
Deku is saying he is fine, when he is not so maybe things are back to normal. She will see how the day goes but figures she can do step four and five at the same time in case it takes a while to tell if things are back to normal.
All through their morning classes the awkwardness and avoidance of yesterday was absent. Deku seems to be feeling better too, he even sits himself down right beside her at lunch, before anyone else has arrived at their table. It almost feels normal.
Almost. She can't help but wonder if Tsu was right about her feelings not being one sided. She sneaks a glance at Deku while he eats his fish and rice wanting to test that theory but isn't exactly sure how to go about it. Not wanting to upset the balance that is just being regained.
Maybe she does need to bring in some outside advice.
Deku pauses and looks at her and she can tell he wants to say something but isn't. “Whatcha thinkin?”
“M-me?” He looks behind himself and turns back to her, “Oh nothing.”
“Nothing?” She smirks, “that must be a first.”
“I mean it's nothing worth mentioning,” he laughs. “Not that I'm thinking about nothing, can you think about nothing?”
He looks like he is seriously contemplating this train of thought when she forgets herself and says “Well I'm glad to have you back Deku, I missed you.”
His eyes go wide as saucers “Sorry I- I didn't mean to be weird, I was having an off day yesterday.” He seems to be struggling to find words before he finally settles on, “I missed you too, it's good to be back.”
You have nothing to be sorry for, and I'm sorry she thinks the words sit at the tip of her tongue but instead she just says “Are we good now?”
He looks so innocent and sweet with his fluffy green hair and sparkling eyes “I hope so?”
She briefly puts her hand on his shoulder gives the biggest smile “me too.” he smiles back and nods. Step four Complete she thinks.
Izuku is happy to be around Uraraka again, he just feels good when they are together. He is finding it difficult to let go of his crush. He had known for some time that he gravitated towards her, and he suspected it was because likes her in a way he doesn’t feel for anyone else. Being around her now feels exhilarating and terrifying in a way it only occasionally used to feel.
Something has changed since she suggested the gift exchange. It's like he allowed his heart to think they could be something more than just friends, and now his heart thinks it can call the shots. It can’t, he knows that, but convincing his heart is another story.
He didn't think he could ignore that he had been avoiding Urakara yesterday forever, he was kind of glad that she brought it up and they had at least discussed it on some level. But now they are just sitting here in silence because he can’t say anything lest his heart might win the tug of war between it and his brain.
She had touched his shoulder and smiled so reassuringly, only giving his heart more ammunition. Then she set her hand down right there within easy reach, if he didn't know better he might think she wanted him to take it.
He keeps his mouth shut, and his hand firmly in place, he has never wanted to reach towards her hand this badly before. He won’t let his heart win, his brain knows better.
It's nice to be with her just as it always was but ignoring his heart hurts, more than it used to. He knows it would be best not to be here at all for his heart's sake, he needs to stop feeding it hope. His brain knows that his feelings will ruin the friendship that he cherishes so deeply.
It is so much more difficult to ignore his feelings now. So he sits uncomfortably comfortable beside her trying not to be creepy as he can’t help but notice how good she looks today and how nice she smells like a crisp winter day as he eats beside her in silence.
As Asui heads to the table she gives Uraraka a questioning look, Uraraka nods. He briefly wonders what that was about but doesn’t think about it too long. He is glad when the girls start chattering because it is so much easier to ignore his own words begging to spill out and she finally moves her hand away for an animated conversation taking that temptation off the table.
He overhears Uraraka mentioning how she really wants to go to the Winter Nights of Lights Festival that is going on for the next couple of weeks, not too far from the school. Interesting.
Ochako put her hand out to see if Deku would take it.
He didn’t.
She is such an idiot it was too soon after everything yesterday, and it wasn’t a date or anything so why would he. Her timing was completely off, that’s all or maybe her feelings are every bit as one sided as she has always thought they were.
She is not ready to let go of this small sliver of hope. She is nothing if not optimistic.
Izuku gets up “we should go to class.” He smiles at her and his smile, his real smile, warm like a cup of cocoa on a rainy day, makes it a good day, even if he didn't take her hand. She is happy he’s back.
“Yeah let’s” she smiles back and the three of them walk over to change rooms together like they often do, just like she wanted. normal, nothing more nothing less. He is still quiet and his hands are clasped together which is a little odd, but he is with her and that's all she can ask for.
“I'll see you out there.” he finally speaks again when it is time to part ways at the change rooms.
As soon as she walks into the change room Mina sneaks up right behind her “I see you and Midoriya are on speaking terms again. He sat beside you at lunch, did anything interesting happen?”
“Shh, nothing happened.” Ochako says sliding from one foot to the other. “Let's not get the whole class involved.”
“He walked with you here?”
“He usually does” she counters, “none of this is news Mina.”
“Except for that he was totally avoiding you yesterday.” Mina squeals ”what was that all about?”
“Shh shh. Maybe I can explain later, but I don't exactly know what to tell you.”
“Okay fine.” Mina relents, ”Did you pick a gift? ”
“Yeah yeah, I think I have an idea, I'm not sure I can pull it off in time. So I'm keeping it to myself for now”
“Boo” Mina pouts, “you never dish.”
After class she rushes to start making her gift. It takes a bit of work to get the supplies without having to get a pass to leave school grounds, but she manages. She may have gotten a few supplies from Momo, because she is in a time crunch.
This needs to be perfect and she is feeling extra ambitious now that she and Deku seem to be on good terms again. She hides up in her room and gets to work.
The week continues to go fairly normal, outside of her work study and school work she spends almost all her time working on his gift.
She notices Deku has picked up a few new mannerisms: he is constantly covering his mouth as if to physically stop himself from talking and he also seems to keep his clasped hands together, in his pockets or balled up in tight fists.
She has seen him cover his mouth sometimes in the past but not this much. At least not when it’s just her. The balled up hands is definitely a new habit, she wonders what that is about but she doesn't ask. Maybe it's a stress thing.
On Thursday Deku does something else new after supper and before she goes to work on his gift he says “Uraraka, umm can we talk outside or somewhere alone for a minute?”
“Sure.” She says. They were already alone when he asked but she decides not to point that out and follows him to the terrace.
He shifts nervously and struggles to maintain eye contact when he asks, “hey umm I know we said we are doing our gift exchange tomorrow after classes. But we never said where?”
“Oh, I didn't really think about that, Anywhere is fine, it's no big deal.”
“R-right, I know” he says he scrunches his face and his hands “I know it’s not. But my gift is better given somewhere else. So can we go out to do the exchange?”
“Umm sure, where are you thinking?” she asks.
“Can I surprise you, it's sort of part of the gift.” Deku asks with a nervous expression.
“Well we need to submit permission requests to leave campus, so I'd have to know.”
“I may have already asked All Might” he says sheepishly “he will sign for both of us for that very reason, so it can be a surprise.”
“Okay Deku, I'm down with that.” she says.
He gives her one of those smiles that could warm up a cold day. “Okay, thanks Uraraka. Dress for the weather. Let's plan for six-thirty.”
He takes off pretty quick after that and if she didn't know better she would almost think he just asked her out on a date. But she knows better.
Izuku keeps second guessing his plan, he knows he should have consulted his brain before making any rash decisions. He is worried this gift might fall into the creepy territory.
It’s too late now he has already picked up the gift and he has no back up plan.
He knows this is the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be doing. He is supposed to be keeping things at a friendship level only, but his dumb idea practically is a date.
His head knows it’s not one, Uraraka knows it’s not one, but his heart might get confused. The very heart he is supposed to distance from all this.
Uraraka meets him just outside of the heights alliance entrance. She somehow looks stunning even in her winter coat. Her hair is half pinned up with an ornamental clip. Her one hand holding a gift, the other just casually at her side.
A gift for him.
It doesn’t mean anything he tells himself. She is just a friend.
Not even thirty seconds in and he has to put his hands in his pocket to keep from reaching out to hers, but as he tucks them into his pocket his mouth opens up “I like what you did with your hair.” He whips his hand to his mouth to shut himself up, from whatever incriminating line might come next.
“Thanks Deku,” Uraraka says, moving right next to him. she gently taps on his arm, the one that’s hand is covering his mouth. “You know I’ve never minded your muttering, you don’t have to worry about that so much when it’s just me.”
The tender look she has on her face and the softness in her words only make the monumental task of hiding his feelings even more insurmountable. He can feel the heat rising in his cheeks. Thankfully it’s cold and the elements might naturally make him look rosy.
“It's just that I’m trying to break bad habits.” Although he is not worried about muttering in the slightest right now, it really is a habit he has been trying to temper.
“I think it’s kinda cute.” She says, melting his weak heart even further.
“Oh? I'm pretty sure it’s not cute.” He laughs as he waves his hands as if that would stop her words from affecting him. “Anyway, let’s get to the train station before we miss ours.”
“Yeah let’s get going, but just so you know, I really do think it’s cute.” She says and they start walking towards their stop.
He knows she is not putting out any kind of signals of interest and that his poor heart is taking everything too far. Her words make him happy anyway.
When she mentions how cold her hands are in a dewy sweet voice, he almost thinks she is dropping a hint for him to hold her hand. But he will not trust his heart and make a fool of himself.
“Oh actually I have a spare pair of gloves in my bag I keep as back up, you want them?”
“Thanks Deku, prepared for everything eh?” she replies.
“Haha, just lucky I guess.” He grins sheepishly handing her his spare gloves.
“Lucky.” She parrots back in a tone that implies she doesn’t really think so. As she puts on the bright blue, yellow and red gloves.
“I’m sorry I know the All Might colors clash with your outfit, but they will keep your hands warm.”
“The colors are fine Deku. I appreciate it, really I do. I can’t believe I left my mitts behind.” She says as they walk into the bustling train terminal.
“Okay so we need to catch the train to x station” Izuku informs her. “And uh, we might need to do the gift exchange on the train ride, or at least can you open mine on the ride?”
“Sure, I have to admit I'm curious.” she blinks at him as though asking where the gift is?
“Yeah well as you know we had a limit, and I didnt know what to make you. So If you hate it, I apologize in advance.” he bows slightly while they wait to board the train
“Hmm… now I'm even more curious Deku.” she says. Soon the train arrives and they make their way to the only open seat that could possibly fit two people together on the train. It is tight so they are squished up beside each other.
It's awkward because there are people all around them, and he is not so sure he wants spectators if this ends poorly especially. “Umm you know what I think we might need to wait a bit after all.”
Uraraka agrees to wait and soon the train is moving “can you tell me where we are going at least?” Uraraka tries.
“Hmm… no, it will ruin the surprise if I tell you anything more than we are stopping at x station, I'm sorry.”
“Oh, that's okay. So, this whole thing got me thinking about gifts in general, and I am really struggling to know what to get my parents. What are you giving your mom?” Ochako asks.
“Oh yeah I was thinking about giving her socks, like really nice ones. But it didn't feel right. So I don't know. She and All Might both deserve the world. I think I'd better stick to something homemade or sentimental since I can actually give them that.”
“Yeah my parents too, I want to give them a trip to Hawaii one day. This year I might be able to give them a nice meal out. I'm not really sure what to give them.”
“That's a really good idea. I'm sure they would love that. All Might can afford a meal out any time that he wants. My mom couldn't but she doesn't really care about dining out. Still everyone has to eat. Maybe I can make my mom a meal. Actually that is a pretty good idea for All Might too… except he really can't eat much, and the things he does eat are pretty easy to prepare. All the gifts of spending time with them are really just gifts for myself, ugh. I don't know.” he shrugs his shoulders in defeat. “As you can see, gift-giving might not be one of my strengths.” Deku mutters.
“I don't know Deku, that sounded pretty thoughtful to me, isn't that what they say: it's the thought that counts.” She tries to encourage him.
“Well if that's all it takes, you are in for a treat. I thought about your gift a lot.” he laughs “I'm just not sure all my thinking translated into a good gift.” he shrugs again. “I guess we will find out soon enough.”
He thought about my gift a lot. She wonders if that could be a sign that her feelings are not one sided, just like everyone keeps telling her, but she just saw how much he was thinking about his mom and All Might's gifts. In fact he tends to overthink nearly everything. This doesn't mean anything.
After her earlier attempts to let him know she wanted him to hold her hand, he solidly shot her down when he offered her his All Might gloves. Everyone who has told her that these feelings go more than one way are simply wrong. She had made herself so obvious when she followed Mina's advice and had said “it's really chilly out, my hands are so cold.” in the flirtiest voice she could.
She had renewed her hope after he had been so timid asking her to go out tonight, that she had even decided to get advice from Mina, after he'd taken off.
Deku is shy when it comes to all friendships. She shouldn't be surprised when he treats her as he would any other friend.
They are crammed next to one another due to the seat they got on the train and she would totally make another small move in the position they are now. It would be so easy, but the All Might themed gloves still on her hands are a bright reminder that he is not interested in her like that no matter how much she wishes he was.
So, she tries not to think about the rejection and instead focus on the friendship they already have. She should be an expert at this after so much time.
“I’m sure it will be great.” She had been so focused on getting him a gift that she hadn’t even thought about what he might give her until last night. She has no clue what would involve a location specific unveiling. “I have to say I have no idea what it could possibly be.”
“Well I haven’t told anyone, well other than my mom and All Might.” Deku says and his knee starts shaking a little and she realizes whatever it is he is nervous, nervous about his gift for her. “So no one would leak information to you.”
“There were no leaks Deku, how about you? Do you know what I have here?” She waves the gift bag in front of him. “Did you get insider information?”
“No one tells me anything.” His eyes narrow and he reaches out to grab the bag.
“Nope. You don’t get a touching the gift advantage. I haven't even seen your gift yet. It must be hidden in your bag or something.” She pulls the bag away teasing him.
“I guess that’s only fair.” He smiles and it’s not fair what his smile does to all of her resolve to get over him. He shuffles, pulling a green envelope out of his pocket. “Here you can try and guess what this is.” He passes it to her.
“I know what this is.” Ochako responds.
“Really, What is it?” He asks, blinking in surprise.
“An envelope.” She smirks as if she had something to gloat about.
“Well I don’t even need to hold yours to tell you what your gift is wrapped in.” He teases.
“Oh you think you're smart don't you?” She nudges his shoulder to tease him back “how about we make this interesting.”
“Interesting?” He asks.
“Yeah, the closest to right wins something.”
“Like what?” he says, eyeing her curiously.
“Loser has to do a truth or dare for the winner.”
“I could live with that.” He says.
“And the winner also gets to pick if it's truth or dare.”
“That seems a bit steep, what about bragging rights or something?”
“What are you afraid of Deku, are you keeping secrets?” She notices his knee leg starts shaking again.
“No it's not like… I'm not afraid.” He declares.
“So it's a deal then?”
“S-sure, deal.” he says as he turns his face away. Just like he did when he agreed to the gift exchange. She feels a little guilty. “Actually bragging rights are totally fine.”
“What! Why? Are you afraid?” Deku says regaining his fighting spirit quickly.
“Heck no, you’re on Deku!” She says with her fiercest game face.
Izuku loves when Uraraka challenges him because it’s always fun. He knows she would never give a mean dare. So dares are perfectly fine.
The problem with this game is when it comes to truth everyone asks about crushes and well there is a reason he is a chronic dare taker. For him winning gains him nothing, he would be too afraid to ask about any secret he actually wanted to know the answer to and he never knows what to dare people to do.
He only stands to have to do something embarrassing or tell his closely guarded secrets.
Playing the game is worth it just to prove to Uraraka he can keep up with her. That he has moments of coolness. That he is not a waste of time.
“Great.” He says trying to match her intensity “so how will this work?”
“hmm,” Uraraka says “obviously if you guess exactly right and the other person doesn’t then you win.”
“Okay, what if we miraculously both guess the other's gift?” He asks.
“Then we both get a prize.” She says cheerfully.
“And if we are both wrong? No one has to do anything then?”
“Well whoever is close wins.” she answers .
“How do we determine a close answer?” Izuku asks as the train stops. They get up and head into the station. He continues walking and looking for a spot to open gifts.
“We will know it when we see it.” She says brightly. He is not so sure about this vague rule. Not that it really matters as he determined he is not in the game for the prize, still it would be nice to not lose.
“And if no one is close?”
“Then we both lose.” She pouts as if that would be a bad thing. Finally he finds a bench they can sit on to do the gift exchange.
“Is this okay?” He gestures to an open bench that isn't right by the train stop at the far end of the bustling station.
“Good enough for me.” She sits on one side of the bench placing the two gifts down and he sits so the gifts are in the middle. The moment of truth quickly approaches. He should have chosen socks with kittens on them, or really soft slippers. Something safe.
“So can I?” He timidly reaches for the shiny silver gift bag that is the size made to perfectly hold bottles of alcohol “To help me make my guess?”
“You'd better, I wouldn’t want an unfair advantage.”
He picks it up, it's surprisingly light. He gently shakes the bag in case there is something fragile, Uraraka seems unconcerned and doesn't give him any warnings against the action.
There isn't a sound from the movement. He squishes the bag a bit. It feels really soft, he thinks it's either wrapped in a lot of paper or it is paper. Maybe fabric, as far as he can tell the actual gift is small. “Stop wrecking the bag Deku.” Uraraka tuts. “Do you think you are ready to make a guess?”
“Well I was still thinking. Are you ready?” he asks looking over and he sees she has taken off his gloves and is running her hand over the envelope thoroughly. He had also taken off his gloves on the train earlier. So he offers to put them in his backpack for now and tells her they are available whenever she wants.
He notices Uraraka is staring at a bulletin advertisement for the very thing that he is giving her “Yes, I think I am ready.” She says grinning ear to ear struggling to contain her excitement that she has it figured out and he realizes there is a very good chance that he is losing this game. Of course he sat right in front of a hint on accident.
Now that he is distracted by his fear of losing it is even harder to deduce what is in that bag for him he just starts mumbling it all out “it small and probably soft, fabric maybe, to small to be a sweater to light to be slippers, maybe a scarf nope it probably to small for that it might be wrapped in something as a trick, but they didn't know they were doing this game until they were on their way, however it was Urarakas idea and maybe she always intended to make a wager, hmm, of course it socks. Socks are a safe, easy choice probably with a hero theme because well he likes heroes and that seems obvious… Yes, I have my answer.”
“So who is first? And when does the loser have to pay up?” he says assuming he will need to.
“How about we both text each other what we think it is, then after we open it we compare our guesses with our answers.” Uraraka says as she clasps her hands together in the air like an evil overlord “and as for payment, how about any time after we decide who won. Tonight, tomorrow, maybe even next week, whenever the winner is ready.”
Izuku is all for proving he can keep up with her but he can't live with that kind of stress, the anticipation of waiting for today had already resulted in several restless nights. He might fall apart if he allows this kind of stress to continue “How about today only?”
Uraraka looks at him moving her fingers tips open and closed in a wave with a seriousness that would be intimidating if he didn’t know she gets goofy like this sometimes. She bursts out laughing “yeah okay, loser pays up tonight. That's probably for the best or you would never make me pay up.”
He laughs with her, relieved. He pulls up his phone “um we have to send it at the same time so neither of us see what the other guessed until after we open them right?”
Ochako is feeling giddy. She thinks she knows what Deku’s gift to her is. If she is right she is going to take that as a sign.
If she is wrong, she has to be prepared to be a gracious gift receiver no matter what it is. She doesn't really care if she wins or loses the challenge so she considers guessing something else. He might be confused about why she would guess something so clearly romantic, if he thinks they are solidly friends only. she doesn't know what to guess anymore after she had momentairy been so sure of her guess she stopped thinking about it.
“Okay, ready?” Deku asks, holding his phone with his thumb above the screen looking at her like they are about to launch a rocket or something. “We could do a countdown?”
A half guess she decides as she quickly writes her text. “Ready, prepared to launch.”
They count down from three.They both press send. It is anticlimactic as they don't look at their phones after they send the messages. But they laugh at themselves anyway.
“Sooo, you can open mine first.” She says pushing the little bag into his lap. Anxious about what Deku may have gotten her, she knows her gift is going to pale in comparison if she is correct so thinks it's best if he opens hers first.
He gives her a timid glance and she encourages him to go ahead. He slowly peels the sticker off the bag and then gently pulls the tissue paper up and peers inside the bag and grins pulling out the toque she had knit for him “it matches my All Might themed scarf and gloves, and y-you made this for me?”
He puts it on his head immediately and pulls out his phone camera to use as a mirror to see how it looks on himself.
“I see why you never bought one of these, now I can’t see all of your cute fluffy hair.” She reaches for a fleck of it that is poking out awkwardly and tucks it so it’s less askew..
His face goes red and he casts his eyes to the ground as he says, “my guess was way off.”
Surprised he would be embarrassed for guessing wrong she suddenly has to know what he guessed. She pulls up her phone and looks at the text hero themed socks sent from Deku. Nothing to be embarrassed by. She can’t help herself from giggling “actually that’s not too far off it’s clothing like socks are and it is hero themed.”
He is still looking away and it dawns on her the reaction he just had was not about guessing wrong and that was him trying to distract her from his discomfort of her touching his face. She had just touched his hair and face like it was no big deal. She is getting way too comfortable around Deku.
Suddenly she is filled with dread. It’s not like he swatted her away disgusted but now he is trying to avoid looking at her and she knows she messed up.
“Y-yeah, I guess maybe I can get h-half points” he says. It looks as if he is attempting to look up at her but doesn’t quite manage.
Her desire to reach out and comfort him with a pat on the back is strong but she forces herself to resist because she knows it’s her casualness that had them in this situation to begin with.
“Heck you might even be the winner!” She cheers. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. “So it’s my turn to open yours.”’
“Um yeah you better open it actually because we need to …” he trails off.
“Need to?”
“Well you’ll see, then we can decide if we need to do anything. If you don’t like it I’ll get you something else, okay?”
He still hasn’t looked up and she is not going to open it without his attention. She’d like to tap his shoulder but she opts to instead call to his attention “ready?” That seems to work. He gives her a nod and focuses on the gift as she starts to open it.
He has hands clasped together like he has been doing sometimes lately. Except for right now he is squeezing them so tight it almost looks painful.
She considers asking if he is okay but she has a feeling this is something he won’t want to talk about. She puts her finger under the flap of the envelope sliding it along to open it and getting a small finger cut in the process. she instinctively pulls her hand up and sucks on the cut.
Deku opens his bag hastily and pulls out a small first aid kit “I’m so sorry, let me see it?” He says apologetic like this was somehow his fault.
He takes her hand in both of his to inspect the cut and quickly pulls out some disinfectant and bandage. She doesn’t think she needs any of this, but she lets him because she likes being doted on by him like this. It would be worth getting continual paper cuts. His hands feel so nice against hers and she knows it’s just the caregiver in him but the tenderness of it all makes her heart race.
“I hope that helps.” He says with the utmost concern over the tiny cut. He lets go of her hand and the loss is disappointing. She wants to just reach out and grab one of his hands again so badly it’s almost painful. She pushes her desires down.
“Thank you," she says. “you went above and beyond Deku.”
Now he is finally looking at her and it's so intense that she shies away moving her gaze back to the gift. She fumbles the flap open and pulls out a card, written on the card is a very small note Happy holidays Uraraka from Deku and there is a simple smiley face drawn beside his name.
Inside the card there are two tickets to the Winter Nights Lights Show. The event every girl dreams of going to with her crush. A perfect place for someone to take you should they want to impress you, to make a first move or even to propose. She knows the latter is not happening but she has heard it's popular for engagements due to the romantic atmosphere it has.
“Wow Deku this is …” This is exactly what she thought it was, does this mean what she thinks it means?”
Deku puts his hand behind his head and his smile is a bit wobbly. “I - uh obviously one of those is actually for me, and umm since the tickets are not worth much, I thought I could also buy you some concessions as part of the gift. A-and like I said before I can alway get you something else instead if you don't like or don't want to go to this with me. Also you could k-keep the tickets for another day and go with someone else if you want to.” He stumbles to say.
“No, I love it, and I want to go with you tonight.” She responds before she has a chance to analyze the mixed messages he is sending her. He obviously had put some thought into this, even if his offer to let her go with someone else is confusing.